


The Elf Who Cried Wolf

by Bread_Stars



Series: Married!Sorian [1]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, Identity Revealed, M/M, With Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:49:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28490439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bread_Stars/pseuds/Bread_Stars
Summary: A few months into their relationship, Dorian received the biggest shock he’d ever heard.His boyfriend was the Dread Wolf.
Relationships: Fen'Harel | Solas/Dorian Pavus, Solas/Dorian Pavus
Series: Married!Sorian [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1932445
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	The Elf Who Cried Wolf

Dorian smiled as he arrived back from a long and exhausting trip to the Exhalted Plains. Even though there was dirt in all of his crevices, and he felt as if his muscles might seize at any given moment, and he was pretty sure his kohl had smudged when he almost nodded off on the ride back, even with all of that he still found himself happy. Why, you might ask? Well he was rather looking forward to seeing his elven boyfriend again after over a week of absence and being back in the same place as him really made what may have been more pressing concerns at any other point seem like minor issues which could be resolved at a later date.

He dismounted his horse at the first possible opportunity, barely making it through the main gates. A stable hand frantically ran to resolve the issue of a very much in the way mount which blocked the flow of traffic inwards. He almost managed to tune out the grumblings of those stuck behind him, forced to stop in their tracks. Dorian quickly gathered his belongings and set immediately off through the main courtyard, having to shimmy around the bustling crowds which always congregated in that area whenever a party returned from a mission. 

He found Solas in his rotunda, pacing with a frown practically engraved into his face. He hadn’t even noticed Dorian enter, by the looks of things.

“The Fade is being as troublesome as ever, I take it?” 

“Dorian,” Solas looked up at him. Instead of being excited to have him back as he had hoped, the Elven apostate retained his anxious expression. His brow was creased and his hands were clasped together behind his back. 

“Is something wrong?” 

“I- there is something I must discuss with you. Something I have thought a great deal about. Perhaps you should take a seat.” 

He gestured to one of the wooden chairs which was neatly tucked under the central desk. Dorian obeyed slowly, keeping his eyes on his lover. 

“If you are breaking up with me, I would prefer a direct approach.”

That seemed to distress Solas even further as he shook his head certainly, pulling out a second chair to join him at the table. 

“It is nothing of the sort. I would be with you as long as you will have me,” he paused. The silence went on for so long that Dorian almost thought that he wasn’t going to speak at all. Finally he cleared his throat and his voice softly filled the room. “I have not been entirely honest with you about my identity. Solas is not the only name which has been ascribed to me. I have been called Fen’Harel, the Dread Wolf by the elves. They believe me, and all the other Evanuris, to be gods when we are simply ordinary elves who achieved immortality and became arrogant.”

Solas paused to allow Dorian to take in this information, which was quite frankly absurd in his opinion. How could his boyfriend be the fucking Dread Wolf? Really, this made no sense... Except that it explained Solas’ guarded nature, his wisdom beyond his years, the perpetual grief and sorrow which always seemed to haunt him.

“I know you will have questions,” Solas continued when he didn’t make any response. He reached down and brought three vials which he placed on the table separating them out absentmindedly. They clinked as they hit the wooden tabletop, bringing Dorian out of his thoughts. “These are truth potions. I want you to know that I am telling you the truth in this, even the parts that I might not want to share. You deserve an unbiased response, even if I may not want to give it.”

He smiled sadly before consuming the contents of the three vials, one by one until every last drop was gone. He then motioned to Dorian to ask him questions before letting his hands rest on the table. They fidgeted slightly as they often did when he was nervous. Dorian suddenly realised how much and how little he truly knew about his boyfriend.

He cleared his throat. “I- I don’t even know what to think. I suppose if I’m to entertain the idea that this isn’t some joke that you’re trying to fool me with, then I ought to check that those really were truth potions... when did we start dating?”

“Three months, two weeks and five days ago. We were on a mission in the Hinterlands when you stupidly got the attention of that pride demon and were thrown back against a rock. When I kissed you, you tasted like the berries we’d been eating earlier.”

“An embarrassing question next, seeing as that was fairly straightforward for you to simply say anyway. Have you read Varric’s books? The romance ones, that is.”

“I’ve read them all, cover to cover. I particularly enjoyed that romance scene in the second volume where the guard captain lovingly mocks her lover because it reminded me of you. How I wanted you to speak to me. I read these before we were a couple...”

Solas’ cheeks went red as he rambled on and couldn’t manage to stop himself. Dorian felt satisfied that he was speaking the whole truth. Now onto the big questions, the ones he was dreading the answers to.

“Are you really Fen’Harel?”

“Yes, I am. I was once called that as an insult by one of my fellow Evanuris, and I changed that name into a title which allowed me to benefit from such a demeaning comment. In Elvhen society, to be dreaded is to be an enemy. Proudly taking on that demonstrated that I was not afraid to be an enemy of those who wanted to be gods. That was the message I wanted to send.”

Dorian blinked and then laughed to himself in disbelief. He then allowed the betrayal to sink in. How could he keep his identity a secret from one he claimed to love. Didn’t he trust Dorian enough to allow him in sooner? Or worse, was he hiding it because of something he was ashamed of, something he knew Dorian wouldn’t like?

“Why? Why would you keep this a secret?”

Solas paused, sighing slightly and looking off to the side. “A great many reasons. One was that I didn’t want you to look at me and see a monster. The Dalish hate me. I can’t even greet my own people because I doomed them when I locked the other Evanuris away. I created the Veil to separate our world from the Fade. Before, spirits and people used to mingle. It was beautiful harmony. A harmony I destroyed. And then, when I woke up after slumbering for thousands of years, I couldn’t stand the world I created. I sought to tear down the Veil. In my misguided attempts, I gave Corypheus my orb thinking he’d die unlocking it. I couldn’t do that myself because I was weak. I joined the Inquisition to fix that mistake. I can’t stand to see my people subjugated like this but I would hate even more to be responsible for the destruction of two worlds. Moreover I couldn’t lose you, not when I have come to love you so deeply...”

“You gave the orb to Corypheus? You killed all those people! You... you caused all of this destruction. That was all you!” Dorian stood up, shouting at his lover. He couldn’t even look at his face. “And you would have been okay killing everyone on this plane of existence to rebuild your perfect world? How could you be okay with that?”

He felt tears run down his face, burning their path into his skin. The desperation in his voice shocked him. He longed for Solas to deny this as a massive prank but his gut told him that this was real. This wasn’t some really odd dream which he would wake up from and laugh off the next day. This was his reality.

“I could not do it any more. It was you who changed my mind. You have so much  life in you. It’s absent in so many others but you gave me hope. If I wasn’t under the effects of these truth potions I would have told you that I would be fine if you left me. But I cannot fathom a life without you in it. I didn’t mean to hurt you but you deserved the truth from me. I will understand if you no longer wish to see me,” his voice cracked and Dorian realised that Solas must be crying too. He turned to look and saw a vision he never thought he’d see: Solas was distraught. 

“I- I need time. To get my head around the fact that you’re a fucking god-“

“I’m not a god. I never wanted to be. That was the others. They abused the elves too. Much like the humans of this Age.”

Dorian rolled his eyes. Nice to see that he was still pedantic even when in this absurd situation that he couldn’t even begin to explain to someone else. “You are still older and more powerful that I could possibly have imagined. You’ve caused so much destruction. I understand why you’d want to lock away the Evanuris, as you call them, but this world? It had done nothing wrong to you! You saw something which was different to what you expected and didn’t even give it a chance before deciding to destroy it!” 

Solas fell silent at that. His eyes cast down, he took a deep breath before meeting his gaze. “You are right.”

“What?”

“You are right. I should not have been so quick to judge this world simply because it was different than my own. I risked so many lives for my pride, lives I wish I could go back and save. I know that my hindsight does no good to those who have already died, but I would like to correct my mistake and prevent as many further deaths as possible.”

Dorian found himself pacing, his feet resounding against the stone floor. All his emotions swirled around like a tornado in his mind, anger at the destruction Solas had caused, hurt at the betrayal, pity for the man who had lost everything, love for a being more powerful than he could comprehend. He took a deep breath in and ran his hand through his already messy hair, trying to sift through his chaotic thoughts each pulling him in a different direction. But he question was which was the right path to take? 

“I... You need to give me time. To process all of this. I want to do some research. I desperately want to understand where you’re coming from but at the moment all I can see is the burning world you could have caused...”

Solas nodded, his face so clearly masking a new and fresh sadness. Dorian hated himself for putting it there but knew he needed time to process this for his own sanity if he were ever going to be able to trust Solas again. The elf in question couldn’t quite meet Dorian’s eyes, looking at him but never allowing himself to meet his gaze. 

“Of course. Take all the time you need. And if you decide you want me to leave, then I shall do so. I give you my word.”

Dorian nodded in what he hoped was a confident manner but he feared he was much to shaken for that. He looked over at Solas, contemplating what he was supposed to do now. He settled with a short goodbye before taking himself upstairs to the library. 

—

It had been four days since Solas’ revelation and he hadn’t yet seen the other man. He’d been holed up in his room, not daring to go into the library where he knew the other man would be, reading every tome he could find on Fen’Harel and the Elven Gods. Evanuris, he corrected himself. 

The literature available was scarce and mostly down to speculation and personal belief rather than presenting a genuine history. However, they all seemed to be concurrent in that they vastly praised the so-called gods and cursed the Dread Wolf as the betrayer. Only, this seemed much too perfect, especially now he’d heard Solas’ own account.

He knew what it was like to be misrepresented by your homeland, to be cast aside as different, unworthy, dangerous. The more he read, the angrier he became with Solas’ portrayal. It was nothing like the man he knew and, while Solas had deceived him, he was so clearly rueful of his actions - an act which was believable with the numerous truth potions involved. 

By mid-afternoon on the fifth day, he had had quite enough of reading and contemplation. He knew he’d made up his mind by now on the matter and driving himself into a hole wondering whether he was making the right choice wasn’t going to do anyone any good.

He marched down to the rotunda and found his breath caught in his throat as he saw Solas buried in his studies as usual. Only now, his muscles were tensed and it was clear from the circles under his eyes that he’d not been sleeping. Truth be told, Dorian had struggled himself to adapt to sleeping alone. 

Catching himself, Dorian knocked on the hard stone wall to get his attention. 

Instantly, the other man looked up, twisting around to face him fully. His expression was a mix between hope and hurt which he was clearly trying and failing to mask. It was strange to see Solas with his mask down. Usually, his emotions and expressions were carefully controlled and hidden away, private. But now it was like the curtains had been drawn open and he could finally see clearly. Light illuminated the pain and sorrow which so clearly haunted the other man, taunted by a new reality and the consequences of his rash actions.

“I forgive you,” he broke the growing silence.

Solas’ eyes widened, a mix of wonder and surprise, as if he’d never heard those words before, and perhaps he hadn’t. He stood frozen to the spot, his chest only barely moving as he breathed. As if a single move would disrupt the atmosphere and send Dorian into a rage against him.

“I forgive you for everything,” he repeated, before advancing to his boyfriend and pulling him into a tight embrace. He knew what those words must mean to Solas who, only after recovering from the shock, tightly squeezed him back.

In that moment, Dorian knew it was worth it, knew that Solas would not abandon him easily. If he’d earned his trust enough for this revelation then the other man had allowed him inside his high and sturdy walls. Now those walls were down and it felt as if he truly knew Solas in a way which had been impossible before.

He felt tears dampen the fabric of his clothing as Solas buried his face in his shoulder, sinking further into the embrace. Dorian allowed a hand to rub his back comfortingly, letting him know he would leave anytime soon. He felt strong arms grip him tightly as if he would still run away.

“I understand,” he murmured, “why you didn’t tell me. I can’t say I approve of every decision you’ve made, but you would likely say the same for me. I’ve done things I’m not proud of. We all have. It’s part of living. The important thing is that we grow from those mistakes and I know you regret it. You might wonder if you could create a better world but I think now you know the cost. Besides, what you need is something to live for, something which makes this world worth saving...”

Solas pulled back from the hug to meet Dorian’s eyes. “And that is you. Vhenan, you bring colour and light to a dark and bleak world. Your magic swirls free and unrestrained unlike so many of the mages of this land, yet unlike the rest of Tevinter you see the faults of the Imperium. You want to change it for the better, not destroy it and create a new ideal. Perhaps that’s exactly what I needed, exactly when I needed it.”

Dorian couldn’t hold back any more, pulling in the elf for a lengthy kiss which made him feel dizzy with excitement and relief. He had never meant that much to anybody, least of all anyone as significant as The Dread Wolf himself. But his power didn’t matter. What mattered were Solas’ words, what mattered was the way his heart raced when he saw his lover’s face, what mattered were the secret moments, the small and the grand, Solas’ insight, his willingness to explore and debate ideas less than a dozen scholars would care about in the whole of Thedas. What mattered was...

“I love you,” Dorian breathed as he pulled away. It was as if this was the first time he’d said those words, perhaps because it was the first time he really understood what they meant. 

“I love you too, Dorian Pavus,” Solas replied immediately, without a moment’s hesitation, “and I always will.”

**Author's Note:**

> As promised, the prequel to this series where Solas actually tells Dorian about who he really is. I hope you guys liked this - I know it’s been a while but I really wanted to make sure I got this right. I love hearing your feedback so as always drop a comment letting me know your thoughts or just kudos (if you liked it)!


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